There weren’t any big-ticket investments from VCs this week in the B2B space (none that have been made public, anyway), but a few million dollars here and a few million dollars there can go a long way – all the way around the world, in fact.
Nearly half of the more than $26 million invested this week landed in India, and — surprise — VCs weren’t fixed solely on the logistics market. Investors were attracted by FinTech, SaaS and more, and PYMNTS finds out what money landed where.
[bctt tweet=”Surprise – India’s VCs weren’t fixed solely on the logistics market”]
B2B Software-as-a-Service startups may be a hot area for venture capitalists today, but Wednesday (Oct. 28) brought with it the news that VCs have provided $2 million for U.S.-based ClientSuccess, a company providing customer success management tools for B2B SaaS companies themselves.
The seed funding was led by Techstars Ventures, Peak Ventures, and others like Domo founder and CEO Josh James and ExactTarget CEO and co-founder Scott Dorsey, according to an announcement. The funding is part of ClientSuccess’ belief that while the majority of SaaS firms today are focusing on customer acquisition, the best-of-breed in this segment will be those that focus on customer retention and satisfaction.
That same day, VCs in the U.S. made another SaaS deal. Washington state’s Envelop VR wants enterprise to embrace virtual reality, and it’s convinced venture capitalists to get on board with its mission. The company announced that it secured $4 million in funding from several investors including Madrona Venture Group. Envelop VR is a B2B SaaS firm that focuses its solutions on allowing other businesses to onboard virtual reality technologies to streamline their work processes.
We say it every week: VCs are crazy about India’s hyperlocal logistics market. Once again the concept rings true as investors funded India shipping services startup Parcelled.in. The $5 million raised came from established logistics firm Delhivery as well as data analytics company Tracxn, reports said Monday (Oct. 26), and will be used to propel the startup across 50 new cities in the nation.
Just days later, more funding was provided for the industry in India when Dell Services president Suresh Vaswani invested in on-demand small truck aggregator Instavans Logistics, though the parties did not disclose how much was raised. The startup links India’s shippers and truckers through online and mobile platforms,. According to reports Thursday, the company had already secured $2 million in seed funding from an array of investors.
Over in Malaysia, hyperlocal logistics startup NeonRunner announced its intention to raise a fresh $3 million from venture capitalists – only this time, it vows to do so in the U.S. dollar to avoid the pitfalls of falling local currency values. According to reports Tuesday (Oct. 27), NeonRunner’s first funding round last year occurred in the Malaysia ringgit, which soon experienced a “freefall” on the global market.
For its next round, however, NeonRunner CEO and Founder M. Kanashan said “this time, it’s in USD – easier for investors to grasp the value as well.”
India-based B2B portal Myheera, which connects jewelry suppliers to corporate buyers, was said Thursday (Oct. 29) to be approaching a deal to secure $6 million in funding, though its founder, Puja Bansal, didn’t say which venture capitalists are interested in the deal.
The platform went live just one month ago and already has 6,000 jewelry manufacturers, traders and retailers conducting business on the site, according to reports. Bansal told reporters that the fundraising will hopefully push the brand beyond B2B and into the world of B2C eCommerce.
Investments across the financial technology and services space were a bit more diverse this week. Reports over the weekend revealed that $5 million was pumped into startup Seed, which provides online small business banking services. Backers included General Catalyst, which led the round, among others, according to reports. Seed was launched by former executives at consumer banking firm Simple, and, according to reports, the founders want to pursue a similar strategy to streamline banking among businesses.
A slew of high-profile financial institutions have raised an undisclosed sum for bitcoin company Digital Currency Group, reports revealed Wednesday. With backers like MasterCard and Bain Capital Ventures, Digital Currency Group gets a leg up in the market as it looks to “accelerate the development of a better financial system,” according to founder Barry Silbert. Reports in Forbes said Silbert launched the startup instead of a fund to fuel a robust investment strategy for other bitcoin and blockchain innovators. DCG will also reportedly launch a bitcoin conference to be held in New York next year.
In Mumbai, one startup helping small businesses manage cash flow got a little help from investors itself. Reports from Inc 42, also on Wednesday, said ORIGA Leasing, an asset financing firm, secured $1 million from ah! Ventures, 500 Startups and other backers, a sign of support for India’s first alternative lender to operate in the asset leasing space for high-growth business models. The firm focuses its asset leasing services on industries like sanitation, health care and manufacturing, reports said, and incorporates working capital management services for businesses, while ORIGA manages their assets.
[bctt tweet=”A few million dollars invested in SaaS and a few million in FinTech is better than none at all”]
It wasn’t the most lucrative week in B2B venture capital, but a healthy $26 million – nearly all across the U.S. and India – managed to bulk up the wallets of B2B innovators in an array of industries. We’ll chalk this one up as a win for the industry. After all, a few million dollars invested in B2B SaaS and a few million in FinTech is better than none at all.
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